Chapter 4
Chapter 4
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 4
Chapter Title: Please Save Me
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Ambasha had decided to become a pirate.
She didn't exactly know what being a pirate entailed,
but at least it felt far better than being a slave.
Instead of punching the head of the tearful girl, the 'father' had warmly stroked her hair.
Instead of kicking the girl he'd just met, the First Mate had given her a kind smile and guided her through a few things.
At the very least, the fact that pirates didn't have to endure pain like slaves allowed her to feel genuine relief.
However, at this very moment,
following the First Mate's instructions into the cabin, she froze at the unexpected sight before her.
A woman stood right in front of her.
She had several butcher knives strapped to her waist,
and her long brown bangs covered half her face.
Peeking through them were black eyes shadowed by deep dark circles.
With a fierce impression that evoked images of a serial killer, she held a knife dripping blood in her hand and silently looked down at Ambasha.
She exuded a terrifying presence, like a demon crawling from the ocean depths, ready to tear a person apart at any second.
Maintaining her silence before Ambasha, who stared up at her in a daze,
she quietly shifted her gaze to the knife in her hand.
A butcher knife honed to a razor edge.
Just swinging this thing, with red blood dripping from it, would turn someone like Ambasha into minced meat in an instant.
She slowly caressed that ferocious blade, glinting with a cold blue sheen, with her fingers.
She...
The woman named Frankling thought the following.
'Anyone, please save me...'
An executive of the Golden Beard Pirates.
Frankling Cook Shadico.
Her position aboard the ship was Head Chef.
In military terms, like a sergeant cook... no, more like a colonel cook,
she had been preparing tonight's dinner just moments ago.
But now, summoned by the First Mate, she found herself in an utterly awkward predicament.
The girl in front of her stared up with a dazed expression.
Gazing at this new 'maknae,'
Frankling felt like bursting into tears herself.
She was on duty today handling chores inside the cabin.
By regulation, it was her responsibility to look after new recruits and teach them the basics.
However, the arrival of a child this young—not even an adult—had thrown her into immediate panic.
And now, with the girl staring blankly at her,
she was too tense to even speak, reduced to nervously fidgeting with the knife in her hand.
She knew it all too well.
That she looked utterly terrifying.
In back alleys, 80% of people who met her eyes either fainted on the spot or collapsed crying.
That's why she'd been treated like a witch or evil spirit back home.
Even after leaving that hellhole by the captain's grace to join the pirate crew, she was still called 'Sea Witch Shadico.'
But despite her intimidating looks and rumors, in everyday life outside of combat, she had a mentality as fragile as glass... no, cookies.
To the point where she'd get hurt and cry along when others cried at her face.
She took double damage—200%—from cute kids crying in particular.
So in a situation like this, she had no clue how to respond.
'Ugh... why did a kid like this have to show up on my watch... They'd cry just from seeing my face—what am I supposed to do...? No, I hate this, help me, Captain! I can't handle this...!'
Watching the girl on the verge of tears filled Frankling with despair.
At that moment.
"Pretty..."
"Uh... huh?"
An unexpected remark from the girl.
Not a tear-choked voice,
nor words forced out,
just a single phrase brimming with pure admiration.
Frankling, deep in her panic, momentarily went blank.
Wondering if she'd misheard.
"P... Pretty...? Y... you mean... me?"
"Yes, you're really pretty, sister!"
"Ah..."
Hearing those words for only the second time in her life, Frankling lost herself for a moment.
Then, as the turmoil churning in her heart began to settle, she felt her cheeks flush without realizing it.
Her fragile mentality, trembling on the brink of collapse, started to steady.
And...
Seeing Frankling like this,
Ambasha thought to herself.
'She's really pretty... This sister could surely kindly send lots of people straight to heaven, right?'
A beauty that seemed capable of granting rest to so many.
Sensing pure admiration for that, her eyes sparkled brightly.
"..."
"Mm..."
-"A... got it, right? The key's like this—normally keep it secured. If... if someone forgets and leaves it loose, lock it right back up and tell the First Mate or the Navigator."
-"Yes, I'll keep that in mind."
The scene unfolding by the cabin window—
this was how it was supposed to go, yet no one had anticipated it.
The First Mate and I watched, momentarily at a loss for words.
And then.
"Hand it over. One talant."
"... Damn..."
Securing what needed securing first,
I watched Ambasha chatting casually with Frankling, feeling a spark of inner amazement.
It wasn't just because the woman whose face startled even me was now getting along swimmingly with a little girl.
'Never even crossed my mind... that I'd see those two smiling and talking like this...'
Frankling Cook Shadico.
In the original story, she was an extra field boss killed by the protagonist.
Originally just a woman mistreated for her looks and vibe, but as the persecution from those around her worsened, she snapped one day and awakened as a true murderer.
She massacred the villagers who'd tormented her, then roamed as a human-flesh-craving monster until the protagonist slew her.
That's the path we know from the original.
No associated quests, no prior or later mentions.
In other words, a pitiful figure with no hope of salvation in the original.
I'd encountered her by chance in a port town we docked at, pondered briefly, and extended a hand.
At the time, she hadn't fallen into murder yet—just a poor woman bullied for her appearance.
The Status Window showed no reaction upon meeting her,
and given her near-nonexistent role in the original, I figured recruiting her wouldn't cause issues.
And now,
she'd become a full-fledged executive in our pirate crew.
Awkwardness lingered, but she was earnestly teaching Ambasha all sorts of things.
Frankling offered a shy smile, as if embarrassed at the thought of the protagonist who'd been fated to kill her broken self.
Watching from outside the window,
once more, I felt confirmed in my decision, a faint smile gracing my lips.
Befitting his title of Pirate King, Ezra Drake wielded terrifying power and infamy.
The enemies he'd wiped out by his hand alone could populate an entire city,
and his utterly merciless conduct toward nobles sent chills down even my spine, knowing full well what kind of man the captain was.
Yet, separate from his prowess and reputation, he had a surprisingly magnanimous side.
Freeing slaves without charge, accepting legitimate commissions from upright merchants to carry them out,
or showing mercy to adversaries worth respecting.
Such humane qualities amid his strength drew widespread support,
playing a major role in his rise to Pirate King.
However...
they also stirred up all sorts of headaches.
Like right now...
"Wha... what did you say? The slave transport ships were all annihilated?"
"Urk... Yes, Your Grace. We fell to that filthy Pirate King or whatever he calls himself."
The words of a subordinate who'd barely escaped by disguising himself as a slave.
Hearing this, the man behind this slave deal—
a middle-aged man with a bloated frame and thick jowls—
Duke Ocleang twisted his face in rage and demanded news of his greatest prize.
"Th... then what of Philippe? What happened to that female slave with the cross-shaped scar he kept with him?"
"Ma... Marquis Philippe is dead. And... I didn't get a good look, but... that female slave seems to have joined the pirate crew..."
"What nonsense is this! I sent you in undercover specifically to bring me that bitch, no matter what!"
"I... I had no choice! What could I do in that situation? The opponent was the Pirate King. If I'd stuck my neck out recklessly, my life would've—Gaaah!!!"
In that instant, the dagger Duke Ocleang hurled sank into his subordinate's shoulder.
As the man collapsed, spurting blood, the duke vented his seething fury.
"Useless wretch—how dare a lowly cur like you make excuses? You should've succeeded even if it cost your miserable life!"
With that, he jerked his chin, ordering the fallen man dragged away.
Once the groaning, bleeding figure vanished from sight,
the duke gnawed at his nails, gripped by intense anxiety.
"I can't abandon this now... I've longed for the moment to ravage that virgin slut for so long... I won't let some pirate trash steal my pleasure!"
Pirate King be damned—he bore the noble blood of the great Franz Kingdom.
He couldn't stomach such humiliation at the hands of baseborn scum.
Stewing in dark rage, the duke heaved his massive bulk upright and lumbered off somewhere.
"I'll take you back, no matter what!... Ambasha, you're mine! I won't let anyone have you!"